a lifestyle blog for book lovers

We just wrapped up our first week of school and wow, was it a doozy. Today I’m sharing some reads to put the spring back in your step.

My favorite finds from around the web:

• 46 amazing new books you need to read this fall.

• She’s 98. He’s 94. They met at the gym. “Age doesn’t mean a damn thing to me or to Gert. We don’t see it as a barrier. We still do what we want to do in life.” Your good vibes for the weekend.

• Chefs say a dishwasher can make or break a restaurant. So I signed up for a shift. “You can’t have a successful service … without a great dishwasher.” This fascinating piece explores why a restaurant is only as good as the person washing the dishes.

• Annie Dillard’s classic essay: ‘Total Eclipse’. “Seeing a partial eclipse bears the same relation to seeing a total eclipse as kissing a man does to marrying him.”

• 6 terrific YA books tackling white supremacy. To which I would add the fantastic Dreamland Burning, a Summer Reading Guide pick that happens to be on sale for Kindle and Nook as I type.

Favorite instagram:

Weirdly, our tomato plants are actually producing tomatoes this year. They’re situated out of sight on the side of the house where I tend to forget about them, and benign neglect is apparently exactly what they need.  I shared this shot of our tomato harvest on instagram and asked for help, and WOW did you all respond with a million (okay, 128) great ideas for what to do with them. Thank you!

Follow me on instagram @annebogel.

On the blog: 

One year ago: Reading as a couple + the best books YOU read this summer. This remains one of your favorite episodes of What Should I Read Next.

Two years ago: What’s your unfair advantage? (and how I read so much).

Three years ago: Walking in circles. “Sometimes our paths crossed just long enough to high five; sometimes our paths ran together for a stretch; sometimes we literally couldn’t be farther apart.”

Four years ago: The book isn’t better than the movie.

Six years ago: My #1 (dead simple, can’t believe I never thought of it before) lesson from Pinterest.

Have a great weekend!

7 comments

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  1. Melissa Gerber says:

    Congratulations on your tomatoes! The rats have been eating mine. In years past, they would only eat them when they were ripe, so at least I had a fighting chance. But this year they are taking the green ones.

  2. Mary Kay Huck says:

    I’ve only been with you for a few months, but saw your blog post above about “The Book Isn’t Better Than the Movie.” I belong to a book club which intentionally meshes the two. We look for movie trailers that are adapted from books. We read those books before the movie comes out. Then we all go together to a movie matinee and dinner afterwords to discuss, “was it better, how was it different?” Just yesterday, we went to see The Glass Castle. My personal take was that it was painful to see the dysfunction on the big screen. One of my favorite books though!

  3. Lori B says:

    My son started out as a dishwasher at one of the best restaurants in our city when he was studying culinary arts with a dream of becoming a chef. He was promoted to head of the ‘dish pit’, then to garde, then to sous chef, all within a year (he was 18). He struggled with the frenetic pace of the cooking and plating at a 500 seat per night restaurant and quit to work as a cook at a small pizzeria with a quieter pace but for the same pay. After just a few weeks he missed the comraderie and positive interactions of the restaurant, and went to them and asked for his dishwashing job back. They not only gave him the job, but put him back in charge of ‘the pit’, gave him the authority to hire and fire, do all of the training, and let him pick and choose his hours. His boss actually told him that he was the best dishwasher they’ve ever had, and is more than happy to work around his college schedule going forward (police foundations). Also, at the end of every night, the wait staff and kitchen staff take a moment before they head home and applaud the dish pit workers who still have 1-2 hours of work ahead of them. The staff manager also stays behind until all of her ‘kids’ are picked up or get into taxis (bus service is finished by then) before she heads home herself, a courtesy she was given by her first restaurant manager at her first dishwashing job many years ago 🙂

  4. Jamie says:

    What!!??? Another Ken Follett “Pillars” book! Great timing since Baby #4 is due in Sept and I’ll need something to pass the time while nursing my life away…haha! I love the coincidence since his final book in the Century Trilogy came out when Baby #3 was born and it kept me company in those hazy first weeks. Plusalso – when the book you’re reading is as big as your baby, it’s gotta be a good day!

    • Anne says:

      We made an announcement in August 8’s episode that we would be taking August 15 off to ensure I meet all my book deadlines! We’ll be back on the 22nd. Thanks for thinking of me!

  5. Antonia says:

    Anne – just looking at that list of autumn books reminded me to flag The Power to you. Whilst the story peters a little towards the end, the setup is amazing. What if women suddenly could match men in physical strength? How would human relations and society change. I thought it was fascinating – would be an amazing book to recommend here (the write up on the blog you linked was thin – but it’s a Bailey’s prize winner!)

    And the link to the Black Lives Matter YA reminds me to say thank you for recommending The Hate U Give. I found it profoundly moving, and walking in Starr’s shoes has given me real insights. Three weeks in I still think about it. Thank you.

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